Risque Behavior on the Rise for Online Teens

Uh oh. Parents, you’d better lock the kids up and throw away the camphones – it seems that the younger generation is up to not-so-innocent hijinks online. The recent “Sex and Tech” (download the PDF here) survey by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com interviewed 1,280 teens and young adults ages 13 to 26 about their online habits -and their findings are indeed concerning. The survey found that rising numbers of teens are sharing revealing photographs and boldly flirting online. These behaviors, the argument goes, are ones they would most likely not engage in in the real world, and are being encouraged by technology.

Information Week explains:

The report stated that young people’s online behavior seems to affect their behavior in real life, with more than one in five teens saying technology makes them personally more forward and aggressive. More than one-third of teens said that exchanging sexy content makes dating or hooking up more likely. Nearly one-third said they believe that people exchanging sexy content are expected to date or hook up.

“That so many young people say technology is encouraging an even more casual, hook-up culture is reason for concern, given the high rates of teen and unplanned pregnancy in the United States,” Marisa Nightingale, senior adviser to the Entertainment Media Program at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said in a statement. “Parents should understand that their own notions of what’s public, what’s private, and what’s appropriate, may differ greatly from how teens and young adults define these concepts.”

Information Week: “Teens Post, Send Nude Pix As Sexy Presents”